Darkened Soul
by Shadougelover14
Summary: He was trapped here...his hope the only thing keeping him going.. (There's nothing that bad in here, but I rated it T just to be safe! One-shot)


**_Inspired by a clip of dialogue in KI:Uprising. Enjoy! Might continue, might not, depends._**

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There was only darkness and silence in the rocky cavern.

Every once and awhile though, the soft clink of chains filled the silence, before going silent again. Attached to the thick chains was a young dark haired angel, dark red eyes staring blankly at the floor. His black feathered wings were pinned against his back by another chain, and the ends were locked together with a padlock behind him.

Pittoo sighed quietly, wincing as the metal cuffs rubbed against the raw skin of his ankles and burned wrists. He didn't know how long he'd been here; weeks, months, possibly a year? He didn't know, he hadn't seen outside since..._that _day. He still shuddered at the memory, at the situation that he'd found himself in, wishing he could go back and change anything to where he'd be prevented from ever flying here...

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Pittoo shot down another Underworld minion as he made his way into the crevice that led into Hades' lair. Lady Palutena had sensed a presence here, but couldn't determine what it was. Though it seemed unlikely, she'd sent him to investigate whether or not it was Hades. He'd been destroyed three years ago, so it couldn't be him, right? Well, that's what Pittoo had been sent to find out; Pit himself was busy defending a far off city from a hoard of rogue Underworld troops, and Palutena had to focus her attention on him, so Pittoo was on his own. She could get away with giving him enough power to fly for five minutes tops, and he could just call if he needed extracting. He didn't mind; the last thing he needed was her talking nonstop in his head. Besides, this would be quick and easy, so he didn't need help.

He entered the tunnel that led into the main cavern, and it got steadily darker as he dodged around the strange glowing roots. Soon he couldn't see anything, which told him that he'd arrived in the cavern. He couldn't see anything, but he didn't expect to, being underground.

"Let's see...dark, quiet, no self absorbed, egotistical gods...yep, this was pointless." he remarked, his voice echoing around him.

All he had to do now was report back to Palutena, and then he was free for the rest of the day-

"Well, well, look what Twinbellows dragged in..."

He froze for a moment, before looking around wildly, his staff at the ready.

"If I'd known I'd be having guests, I would've spruced the place up a bit. A few more Ornes in the tunnel and canyon; or maybe some shields to slam yourself into."

"Hades..."

How? How could Hades even be alive? He'd seen the final battle, Hades had been blasted into...well, nothing, he'd just been gone, but not even Hades could've survived that.

"Speechless, hm? That's a first, though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You all thought I was dead, didn't you?"

"Yeah, there wasn't exactly anything to disprove that..."

"I admit Pitty did a number on me; he even left me bodiless for a time. But with three years to recuperate, and a good number of souls, I'm back and beautiful."

"Really? If you're so great why don't you show your face you coward?"

"Ha ha, oh Pittooey, you haven't changed a bit; still so headstrong, and in over your head..."

Things went quiet, and Pittoo glared into the darkness as he turned in a slow circle, bracing for anything. Seconds later, a hand shot out of the darkness to his right, and he barely flew out of the way before it closed around where he'd been moments before.

A laugh sounded from all around him, before Hades himself finally appeared in front of him.

"Fast as ever, I see; but you do have _one _thing you need to watch for."

Pittoo glared curiously, when he suddenly dropped a few feet before catching himself. He cast a worried look at his wings, and the fiery aura around them told him he was almost out of time. Without flight, he'd have a much tougher time fighting Hades. And much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't take on the Lord of the Underworld alone.

He _had_ to get out of here, fast. He fired one charged attack at Hades' face, and raced towards the tunnel while the god was distracted. An angered shout followed him as he flew, swiping at any monsters that he'd missed earlier.

_'C'mon, faster, faster, __**go faster**__-!'_

He hit rocky ground, and rolled to a stop with a moan. Sitting up, he looked back at his wings, which were now missing the glowing aura of flight. Great, just great...

A rumbling sounded, and was getting closer and louder every second; he quickly got to his feet and started running, but something flew over him and slammed into the ground ahead of him, the force causing him to fall again. He pushed himself up as he stared ahead, and saw Hades' giant hand, claws digging into the rock, blocking any further advancement.

"Looks like little Pittooey's wings have been clipped, heh heh..."

The hand started dragging backwards, throwing up dust and bits of rock as it grew closer. Pittoo scrambled back on his hands and feet, trying to come up with a plan to pass it. If he was fast enough, maybe he could dash through the gaps in between his fingers...

He got to his feet, stepping back to give himself some time, took a breath, and ran. The space between him and the hand grew smaller, until he was mere inches away, and he twisted slightly to slip between Hades' index finger and his thumb. He was going to make it, he was actually going to-

The hand closed around his leg tightly, and yanked him back, causing him to drop his staff. He would deny that a scream of any pitch had escaped him, deny it to his dying day; and that might come sooner than he'd expected.

He was dragged back into the pitch black room, and hung upside down from his leg, face to gigantic face with the grinning Underworld ruler. Hades chuckled, lifting his other hand running a claw lightly up his spine.

"Why Pittooey, is that _fear _I'm seeing in your eyes?"

Pittoo didn't answer, but he was sure his rapid breathing and wide eyes were all the god needed.

"It _is!" _Hades said with a fake gasp, before letting out another laugh.

"Mark this day on a calendar!"

"Let me go! What do you even want?!" Pittoo snarled, attempting to free his leg from Hades' strong grip.

"Always has to be straight to the point with you, doesn't it? Well, do you recall your last trip to the City of Souls?"

Hesitantly, he nodded, and Hades snickered.

"And your fight with Ol' Chomper?"

Another nod.

"Remember what I said about souls, specifically yours? Well, I wasn't lying; a soul like yours _would _be quite delectable."

"Yeah, so what?"

"So what? Why Pittooey, you really don't realize what a predicament you're in,"

Pittoo was moved closer, until he was only a few inches from Hades' face.

"When there's a specific soul I want, I _will _take it...no matter how much _pain_ I have to cause the bearer."

Another claw pressed against his back, pushing him even closer to the glowing eyes, hunger now gleaming in their depths. Fear wasn't an emotion he felt too often, if at all, but it was strong as hell now; it was so palpable he felt he would throw up, though that could also be from hanging upside down for too long. Either way, he was terrified, and he wasn't sticking around another minute. He'd lost his staff, but he still had one last resort; a Bouncy bomb Pit had insisted he take. He could never be more grateful for his lighter half's urging.

In a sudden movement, he unhooked it from its holster around his waist, and flung it into Hades' face. The explosion that followed wasn't nearly as loud as the enraged roar that came from Hades. Pittoo tried to free his leg, but much to his terror, the grip on it didn't lessen. The smoke cleared, and Hades' strange eyes were glaring daggers at him, filled with such fury that Pittoo was momentarily stunned from fear.

"You shouldn't have done that, Pittooey..."

Seconds later, he was tossed into the air, and landed in Hades' now open hand. Their eyes locked for a few brief seconds, before his giant hand closed around Pittoo, squeezing tightly. The young angel fought back against it, but Hades continued squeezing every last molecule of air from his lungs. Everything was fading to black, and his breaths were shallower. With his conciousness slipping, he managed one last, weak gasp.

"H-Help...P...P-Palutena..."

He received no answer.

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After that, he'd woken up in this same small cavern, chained to the floor. He didn't have any idea how long ago that had been; he didn't know anything anymore, except for this cave, and the path to the main cavern where Hades would always be waiting for him. He'd been confused when Hades announced he wasn't going to devour his soul right then, but Hades had been more than willing to enlighten him.

According to Hades, his soul was 'already an enticing meal, but it would be even better after some seasoning'.

_"Even better than a dark soul, is a dark and _**_tortured_** _soul." _as he'd put it.

So like clockwork, for however long he'd been here, two Skuttlers would come in, drag him to the cavern, and Hades would proceed with whatever he had in mind at the time. Lately, he'd taken to electrocuting him using a couple of weird looking posts. Pittoo didn't know what they were, he just knew they hurt; a lot. His wrists were raw and burnt, and being dragged by chains didn't do much to ease the pain.

Why wasn't Pit showing up to rescue him? The other angel had to have noticed his absence. Or Palutena, he'd never reported back, so she must be suspicious...

Two shadowy figures approached out of the darkness, and he felt his heart speed up a little. The Skuttlers unhooked the chains from their rings, and yanked him up and forward. He winced at the metal rubbing on his damaged skin, before yanking the chains out of their grasp.

"I canwalk on my own..." he spat, his voice cracking just a bit from the overuse of his vocal chords in the time he'd spent here. Even _he _hadn't recognized the agonized screams as his own...

The Skuttlers still held the chains, but had stopped pulling on them. They walked through the darkness for what seemed like hours, each step filling him with more and more dread, until they finally arrived in the cave on a small cliff, which was just barely lit by some unknown source. Seeing those same posts, his dread and fear only strengthened.

The two minions shoved him forward, and due to his weakened state, he hit the stone floor on his knees. The chains were hooked onto the posts, forcing his arms to spread and hang from the restraints, and the monsters vanished back into the darkness they'd come from. He kept his eyes fixed on the rock, mentally preparing himself for whatever was to come.

"Hello, little Pittooey..."

He continued to glare at the floor, even as he sensed Hades's presence towering over him.

"It's rude not to look at the person talking to you, you know."

He still refused, until a large forefinger forced him to tilt his head up, and stare into Hades's soulless eyes. The god smirked down at him, and seemed to stare right down into his soul; he wouldn't be surprised if he was.

"There we go, much better. How is the little angel today?"

Pittoo continued his silence, which was really the only thing he could do now, and Hades's eye twitched a little.

"I asked you a question, I expect an answer; you're being awfully rude this evening."

_'So it's nighttime...' _He thought, _'Now if only I knew how long I've been here...'_

Having had enough of his silence, Hades drew his hand back, and snapped his fingers. Almost immediately, a strong electrical current emanated from the posts, ran through the chains, and into the young angel. Though it wasn't strong enough to make him scream like the other times, it still caused a grunt or two of pain as he clamped his mouth shut in an attempt to stop himself from making any other sounds. A few seconds later it stopped, and his head was lifted once again.

"That never gets old," Hades laughed, "These last two months have been some of the most entertaining times I've had."

Two months; that was it? It felt like he'd spent _years _here! Even so, why hadn't Pit shown up? He HAD to have noticed his absence! Not even Pit was _that _dense!

"You seem surprised, Pittooey, why is that? Did you have some event planned, or...were you expecting someone by now?"

Red eyes snapped back to his in answer, and he let out another laugh.

"Did you think I wouldn't plan for that? I knew Pitty and pretty Palutena would be looking for you, so I had one of my minions leave them a little message from 'you'; all they know about you is that wish to be left alone for a while; And blocking Palutena's telepathy is quite once you get the hang of it."

Pittoo could feel his blood running cold as he met Hades's triumphant smirk.

"And even if they do realize something isn't right,"

The god's face lowered to him, hot breath blowing against his skin as a sharp nail poked his chest.

"It'll be far too late for you..."

Pittoo tried to move away as far as he could, but the chains prevented any such movement.

"No one's coming to save you, Pitoo, it's just you and me now."

_No one's coming..._

With that, Hades moved back again, and another current, this one much stronger than before, hit him, and this one did cause a scream. The current got stronger, and his screams louder, and they continued to do so until his voice finally gave out, and his entire body felt like it was on fire. The chain locked around his chest and wings made it difficult to breathe properly, only adding to his distress. The session continued for a few minutes longer, before finally stopping.

_No one's coming..._

He was left panting heavily, his head hanging, and sweat pouring down his face, along with the one thing he'd been holding back for so long; tears. His body shook with muted sobs, and he could hear Hades snickering softly. His head was lifted once again, and those same pitiless eyes stared into his.

"_There's _the spark of hopelessness I've been looking for," he remarked, "Perfect, things will be much easier from here; oh minions, take the little angel back to his cave."

The Skuttlers came back, unhooked the chains, and yanked him to his feet. Hades snickered behind him, and his taunting followed him out.

"Pleasant dreams, Pittooey~"

The trip back seemed much shorter than earlier, and he was pushed to the ground once again. The other restraints were locked around his ankles, and the wrist chains were reattached to the wall. The monsters vanished into the shadows, leaving Pittoo to himself. He slowly sat up, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, and he stared at the ground in silence.

Pit wasn't coming...Palutena wasn't coming..._nobody _was coming. He was stuck here with Hades until his soul was deemed 'edible'. He was never getting out...

He buried his face in his arms, and whatever tears were left came forth.

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**_Anyone who played Uprising should remember the City of Souls level, so you should remember which scene I'm talking about._**

**_So what do you all think? Continue? Don't continue? Leave opinions in the review box!_**


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